Went and test drove a Z4m today...
Discussion
Have to say It was the most fun I've had in a test drive in ages. The car made me realise what it was like to drive a 'fun' car again. The engines an absolute peach - having never driven a 6cyl BMW before I have to say i'm mightily impressed, there was plenty of low down grunt to cruise along in 6th and when you wound it up to 7, it sounded absolutely fantastic..I couldn't believe it, when I pressed the ESP button, it actually turns it all off and you can have some fun - if only Audi would do this in the TTS! Being N/a I presume theres not much that can be done in the way of tuning bar going the whole hog with a supercharger? Now all I need is for someone to buy my Audi so I can get me one of these gems!
They are great fun, probably one of the best value motors out there! Roof down with the S54 revving to 8k, it's such a charismatic car.
I didn't test drive one for many years, after been a bit disappointed with the cooking Z4s, even the 3400S. Eventually had a go in one and that was it.
Happy hunting
I didn't test drive one for many years, after been a bit disappointed with the cooking Z4s, even the 3400S. Eventually had a go in one and that was it.
Happy hunting
live love and mod.... one of the most underrated cars of the decade, finally people are clocking on...... FYI theirs loads of mods you can do for the car before going to insane mode and adding boost, cams, intakes, tunes, full exhaust options , top level coilover its available, you can really tailor the car into something really special, if you was impressed with a stock vehicle you should drive a well sorted example, it will blow your mind, the platform is ace, it just needs some changes to make it what it deserves to be.
Edited by Beedub on Saturday 1st August 23:51
Beedub said:
live love and mod.... one of the most underrated cars of the decade, finally people are clocking on...... FYI theirs loads of mods you can do for the car before going to insane mode and adding boost, cams, intakes, tunes, full exhaust options , top level coilover its available, you can really tailor the car into something really special, if you was impressed with a stock vehicle you should drive a well sorted example, it will blow your mind, the platform is ace, it just needs some changes to make it what it deserves to be.
That's a superb Z4M Beedub! Must be pretty rapid Edited by Beedub on Saturday 1st August 23:51
I have had mine for about a year and a half.
It was my daily driver, but I got annoyed with how stiff it was and bashing it off speedbumps and the potholes around my way.
I now have a s
tter to use daily and the z4 is a Friday and weekend car.
I think it's a hilarious car! I have just come back from a trip of almost 700 miles to the Skye having fun there and over the Cairngorms back home, I was up to applecorss last month which was 500 miles in the same day with my brother in his m3
Loved the car and really enjoyed it, didn't get tired or annoyed with it. I'm not sure there is a much better car for the trip and those roads.
It was my daily driver, but I got annoyed with how stiff it was and bashing it off speedbumps and the potholes around my way.
I now have a s
tter to use daily and the z4 is a Friday and weekend car.I think it's a hilarious car! I have just come back from a trip of almost 700 miles to the Skye having fun there and over the Cairngorms back home, I was up to applecorss last month which was 500 miles in the same day with my brother in his m3
Loved the car and really enjoyed it, didn't get tired or annoyed with it. I'm not sure there is a much better car for the trip and those roads.
I've had mine for about 18 months now.
I replaced the springs with Eibachs due to a broken rear spring (Bilsteins going on this winter) but apart from that I left it well alone.
I have a 530d as my daily, and the Z4M is purely a weekend car but I love it, and thoroughly enjoy every minute of driving it.
Get one, you won't regret it!
I replaced the springs with Eibachs due to a broken rear spring (Bilsteins going on this winter) but apart from that I left it well alone.
I have a 530d as my daily, and the Z4M is purely a weekend car but I love it, and thoroughly enjoy every minute of driving it.
Get one, you won't regret it!
Had my Z4MC for about 7 years now, and covered 130,000 miles in it. It's my one & only car so has to do everything...from shopping trips to 'Ring trips, along with my weekly commute of about 400 miles.
Until this year, the only costs had been scheduled maintenance, petrol (lots of it at about 27mpg), insurance & warranty.
It's already got a decent exhaust on it, and a Gruppe-M intake. But this year it's had new suspension (Bilstein B16 PSS10), new clutch, flywheel, front discs and is having it's cooling system overhauled (some of it courtesy of beedub) this week. Finally it will have the front calipers replaced with some Alcons.
Should be good for another 130k I hope.
Until this year, the only costs had been scheduled maintenance, petrol (lots of it at about 27mpg), insurance & warranty.
It's already got a decent exhaust on it, and a Gruppe-M intake. But this year it's had new suspension (Bilstein B16 PSS10), new clutch, flywheel, front discs and is having it's cooling system overhauled (some of it courtesy of beedub) this week. Finally it will have the front calipers replaced with some Alcons.
Should be good for another 130k I hope.
Edited by mmm-five on Sunday 2nd August 11:54
mmm-five said:
Had my Z4MC for about 7 years now, and covered 130,000 miles in it. It's my one & only car so has to do everything...from shopping trips to 'Ring trips, along with my weekly commute of about 400 miles.
Until this year, the only costs had been scheduled maintenance, petrol (lots of it at about 27mpg), insurance & warranty.
It's already got a decent exhaust on it, and a Gruppe-M intake. But this year it's had new suspension (Bilstein B16 PSS10), new clutch, flywheel, front discs and is having it's cooling system overhauled (some of it courtesy of beedub) this week. Finally it will have the front calipers replaced with some Alcons.
Should be good for another 130k I hope.
Great to hear that a car like this is racking up some serious miles and being used properly, good man. Until this year, the only costs had been scheduled maintenance, petrol (lots of it at about 27mpg), insurance & warranty.
It's already got a decent exhaust on it, and a Gruppe-M intake. But this year it's had new suspension (Bilstein B16 PSS10), new clutch, flywheel, front discs and is having it's cooling system overhauled (some of it courtesy of beedub) this week. Finally it will have the front calipers replaced with some Alcons.
Should be good for another 130k I hope.
Edited by mmm-five on Sunday 2nd August 11:54
Schermerhorn said:
Really considering getting one of these.
What should I look out for?
There's not much to look out for really, they are pretty bulletproof.What should I look out for?
Check for the important 1200 mile service, plus rest of the history, including inspections on schedule. Consumables are all reasonably priced, the rear tyres will wear on the insides.
Rear springs as mentioned can go, also check the hood works as the motors can be submerged.
In four years with mine, I've not had a single problem, however minor. Thats probably done it now though!
I have a Z4MR and they are indeed nice cars in a kind of old school kind of way .Its a bit like a TVR but without all the hassle and things going wrong all the time .
I came out of an XKR into mine and it was between the M , Boxster S and S2K, and while they are all great roadsters the BMW just had the edge for me ,even though its not as refined to drive as the Boxster .
As many folk have said driving the M always feels like a special occasion .My M is only a weekend sunnny day toy for open top driving on country roads , and when i go out in the M I feel have to give it the utmost respect and attention -a bit like I used to feel when driving the TVR .
However prices seem to have gone up to a point where for a nice example with lower miles and a proper SH ,they really don't represent value any more in my opinion . Having said they will probably hold their value better than most roadsters .
Im actually quite happy with mine in standard form -it handles well ,makes a lovely noise without being intrusive and it has more than enough performance than I can ever hope to safely exploit on a public road .
The tricky bit is finding a well cared for example where all the hard work has already been done by the previous owner .
Best of luck .
I came out of an XKR into mine and it was between the M , Boxster S and S2K, and while they are all great roadsters the BMW just had the edge for me ,even though its not as refined to drive as the Boxster .
As many folk have said driving the M always feels like a special occasion .My M is only a weekend sunnny day toy for open top driving on country roads , and when i go out in the M I feel have to give it the utmost respect and attention -a bit like I used to feel when driving the TVR .
However prices seem to have gone up to a point where for a nice example with lower miles and a proper SH ,they really don't represent value any more in my opinion . Having said they will probably hold their value better than most roadsters .
Im actually quite happy with mine in standard form -it handles well ,makes a lovely noise without being intrusive and it has more than enough performance than I can ever hope to safely exploit on a public road .
The tricky bit is finding a well cared for example where all the hard work has already been done by the previous owner .
Best of luck .
We ran a Z4M and TTS at the same time for a while and they are so different in the way they go about delivering their performance and the Z4M does have a nice old school feel to it in a positive way whereas the TTS is all cool, calm and collected.
I didn't like the ride in the Z4M but as others have said it can be easily sorted and the ride in the TTS on 19" rims isn't that clever either, I remember my test drive of the Z4M and I was really smitten by it and they are a cracking car.
I didn't like the ride in the Z4M but as others have said it can be easily sorted and the ride in the TTS on 19" rims isn't that clever either, I remember my test drive of the Z4M and I was really smitten by it and they are a cracking car.
krisdelta said:
Are those the E9x 18" wheels? Did they slip right on or need spacers ? Looks very smart.
they are the rare 260M indeed!no spacers needed, its the opposite these are aggressive for the z4m and require a number of changes to work without contacting the fender liners or body.
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